Not harassment, but what exactly?

“On the advice of House Employment Counsel, I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned,” he said, in a statement provided to the Times. “The severance did not involve the Office of Compliance and at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made, and no sexual harassment occurred.”

Well, credit to Grijalva for keeping his hands to himself. But showing up to represent the state of Arizona while three sheets to the wind? Is it true?

It seems we aren't entitled to know.

Grijalva said he couldn’t provide any further details due to an agreement to keep this thing confidential. "Regrettably, for me to provide any further details on this matter would violate the agreement,” he told the Times.

Well, isn’t that just wonderful? The public can supply hush money. We just aren’t allowed to know the details of what, exactly, is being hushed up.

We've paid millions to hush accusers

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Outside of Congress, taxpayers may also be footing the bill for businesses' sexual harassment-related settlements.
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Grijalva, a southern Arizona Democrat, is the latest in a parade of our leaders who apparently have been using our money to cover up allegations of bad behavior. The congressional Office of Compliance has handed out $17.2 million over the last two decades to settle 264 complaints of sexual harassment and other workplace violations, according to The Washington Post.

Last week, we learned that Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., handed over $27,000 to a former staffer who claimed he sexually harassed her. He has confirmed the payment but denied that she was fired for refusing his sexual advances. He has since been accused of sexual harassment by a second former staffer.

The former staffer paid off by Grijalva wasn’t named in the Times report. After she threatened to sue, the Times says Grijalva stopped paying her salary in an effort to force a settlement -- and presumably keep the story under wraps. It worked. She agreed to leave after three months on the job and he agreed to keep her on the payroll for another five months.